Video summary
The speaker shares the exciting news of finally getting a new tattoo inspired by voice actor Peter Cullen, fulfilling a promise made at the beginning of the month. The fresh ink depicts Optimus Prime in his alternate mode as a black and white truck, which is currently still healing with a protective gel applied to it. This design serves as a heartfelt tribute to Peter Cullen, featuring the iconic quote "Be strong enough to be gentle" placed beneath the image of the leader of the Autobots.
The concept for this specific piece evolved during a walk with the speaker's wife, leading to a creative decision that honored his existing collection of tattoos. Although he initially considered getting Optimus Prime's head or a robot mode depiction, he realized he already had a robot version inked on his body. Consequently, he chose to focus on the less common alt-mode truck design to create a unique memorial that pays respect to Peter Cullen's legacy while avoiding redundancy with his current sleeve work.
Upon completion of the main design, the tattoo artist suggested adding smoke rising from the vehicle's exhaust stacks to give the piece more life and movement. The speaker trusted the artist's expertise after thirty years in the industry and agreed to the addition, a choice that resulted in an image of Optimus Prime appearing to roll out dynamically. The final result is a personalized masterpiece that combines the classic aesthetic of a black and white memorial with the added detail of smoke, which the speaker absolutely loves.
Looking toward the future, the speaker wonders if he should expand this tribute into a full sleeve dedicated entirely to Optimus Prime, though he acknowledges that time will reveal what his next step might be. For now, the new tattoo stands as a completed project that successfully merges personal fandom with artistic expression, capturing both the mechanical essence of the truck and the gentle strength associated with its voice actor.
Read the full video transcript
I do have to show something off for you.
The beginning of the month, I mentioned
I was going to get a Peter Cullen
inspired tattoo, and I did last Monday.
Hopefully, I can show this off, but here
it is. Uh, it's been a week. It's still
healing. It's got the little gel on it,
but it's Optimus Prime in his alt mode.
Um, you got his quote, "Be strong enough
to be gentle." I thought over and over
again, I was actually on a walk with my
wife and the idea hit me. I want to do a
new tattoo. I want to make it Peter
Cullen, kind of a tribute to him. What
was I going to do? I thought maybe I'll
do Optimus Prime's head with the title
underneath or some type of form of
Optimus in robot mode. And then it
dawned on me, I already have Optimus in
robot mode right here. So, why not do
alt mode? And I don't know very many
people who do the alt mode. So I've got
the truck in black and white. I debated
on collar or black and white, but since
it's a memorial, a tribute, I decided to
do black and white, be strong enough to
be gentle. Now when the tattoo artist
finished, he says, I have an idea to
give this a little bit more ump. And I
was like, well, what is it? He says, I
want to add smoke coming out of the
smoke stacks. And I thought about it and
I'm like, well, you're the tattoo
artist, the guy been doing tattoos for
30ome years. Go for it. So, he did it
and I absolutely love it. It's Optimus
Prime. He's actually rolling out. So,
that's it. That's the one. Now, I'm
like, well, shoot. Should I just do an
entire Optimus Prime sleeve? Who knows?
Time will tell.